How to Address a Man or Woman: Business FormsToday, use of Ms. is standard in business situations in the United States, but it is not the standard usage around the world: check for the preference of Mrs. or Miss by international visitors. If you are looking for social forms of address here is a link to those forms. Envelope: Mr./Ms. (full name) (Company name) (Address)or _Mr./Ms. (full name) (Title) (Company name) (Address)_Letter salutation: DearMr./Ms. (surname):FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank. For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog. For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide. How to Address a Married Woman: Ms? or Mrs.? In my country, we use the British forms of grammar etc. but I’m sure you can help with regard to the usage of the word “Ms.” I will use it if I’m not sure that the lady is married e.g. “Ms. Jane Jones” When I know she’s married and chooses to hyphenate her maiden and married names e.g. Jane Smith-Jones, I will address her as “Mrs. Jane Smith-Jones”. However, I have been told that in this circumstance, she should be addressed as “Ms. Jane Smith-Jones”. Which is correct? With thanks, _Mary Lister (Miss) in the Trinidad_Dear Miss Lister: I am not sure I can advise you of what to do in Trinidad & Tobago but I can tell you what I know is happening in the USA. In the USA it is acceptable to address any woman you don't know personally as Ms. .... e.g., "Ms. Nancy Jones." "Ms." is an equivalent to "Mr." which defines gender but not marital status. Since it's against the law to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, marital status, etc. in employment .... Ms. removes non-pertinent info from the name. When marital status is pertinent as in family activities (social), "Ms. Nancy Jones" may use "Mrs. Henry Jones" and "Mrs. Jones" too. You may run into a woman who wants to be addressed as "Mrs. Nancy Jones" ... but it's increasingly more rare. I have friends where the wife does not like "Mrs. Henry Jones" ... EVER .... she likes: Mr. Henry Jones and Ms. Nancy Jones AddressRe: Hyphenated Names: If you encounter someone with a hyphenated name ... in the US we'd just use it as presented with "Ms." like you note: "Ms. Nancy Smith-Jones." Whether that's her married name ... or birth-family name ... doesn't enter into the use of honorific. In the USA the use of "Miss" has been reduced to addressing girls of under ten or twelve years of age ... and once they have become a teenager ... they want to be "Ms." which they see as adult. I just taught a class of 42 students .. none knew anyone who used "Miss" professionally ... and only two people knew anyone who used "Miss" socially -- and they were elderly women. Full disclosure: I met one woman in her 30's last fall in New York at a speaking engagement who used "Miss" professionally. All this said ... in doing the research on my book I found that women in the UK, Australia and Canada use "Miss" and "Mrs." professionally. But you don't see it in the USA: "Ms." has come ubiquitous. -- Robert Hickey